There's lots of exciting news and announcements in this months newsletter, so let's jump right in!

WINNER OF THE LONGINES FORUM PHOTO CONTEST

Congrats to member stilian for winning the Longines photo contest! His picture will adorn the Longines forum masthead for the year. Besides winning bragging rights, his prize (a polishing kit) is on the way to him.

REVIEWS GALORE!!!

January has been a record month for me for publishing reviews. Here's some links to the reviews I've posted so far this month...with more to come!

The 4th Annual NYC GTG will be here before you know it (Sat. May 15th , 2010). Discounted hotel rates at a group rate are also available for those watch fans that will stay in NY the whole weekend. Register for the event HERE while the space is still available.

SIHH NEW MODEL INFORMATION POSTED

The Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) celebrated it's 20th year this year January 18th - 22nd. The Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie has been taking place each year in Geneva since 1991.

You can add watches to your Watch Box based on the available number of slots you have open in your Watch Box. All Registered Members have one slot available in their watch boxes. One of the many benefits of joining the WATCH TALK FORUMS Patron Program is having additional slots added to your Watch Box:

Every day, we're seeing the ranks of WTF Members joining the Patron Program grow! Thanks SO MUCH to everyone who has joined the program!! We're on our way to the goal of 1000 Patron members in 2010!

For 2010, we're enhancing the WTF Patron Program significantly, and providing some strong benefits which only Patron Program members will enjoy.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE PATRON PROGRAM? WHY IS WATCH TALK FORUMS ASKING FOR DONATIONS FROM MEMBERS?

The Patron Program began at the end of 2008 as a way to help fund the growth of WTF. Our commercial WTF Forum Sponsors essentially cover the basic overhead costs of the site. However, we have no budget for things we desperately need like travel (to get to places like Basel or SIHH for example so we can bring our community a first hand account of the new watches which are introduced every year) and advertising (so that we can draw in even more participation in our various forums which is more fun for everyone), and compensating the Admin Team for article work (who work as volunteers currently) so we can generate more professional content for the site which we all can enjoy.

We started the Patron Program with the understanding that the primary benefits to the contributing member was the recognition within the community for being a Patron Program Member, and the satisfaction which comes from contributing to a worthwhile cause. Based on the extremely low participation in the Patron Program in 2009, it was clear that there was not enough incentive for Registered Members to become Patron Program Members.

SO WHAT'S CHANGED WITH THE 2010 PATRON PROGRAM? WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF CONTRIBUTING FINANCIALLY TO WATCH TALK FORUMS?

So we're rolling out a brand new Patron Program at the end of 2009 and we're providing MANY new and positive, value added benefits of Patron Program Membership including:

NEW and EXCITING system functionality - the "My Watch Box" feature which allows you to showcase your collection for all to see!

Special pricing and discounts which WTF Forum Sponsors will ONLY make available to WTF Patron Program Members!!!

Exciting drawings and giveaways for watches and watch related accessories which will only be available for Patron Program members!

Sales Forum posting privileges - only Patron Program members and Forum Sponsors will permitted to post in the Sales Forum after Jan. 1st 2010..

Google Ads Project Discontinued

You may have already noticed that Google Ads are no longer being displayed on WTF. We tried it for a month and simply didn't like the types of ads which were popping up. So, we'll be rolling out a new, different Ad Program soon. But for now, the Google Ads are gone